SNL Recap January 29, 2011: Jesse Eisenberg/Nicki Minaj

Cold Opening – Congresswoman Michele Bachman’s Response to the President’s State of the Union: The Second Attempt
The concept of technical difficulties galore was good for a few laughs and then it got a little old, but not as old as it could have gotten. Bachman offhandedly confirming that Xena was on the same tape as the Obama clip and the crash in the background at the end were the most amusing bits, because of how goofy and unexplained they were. B

Jesse Eisenberg’s Monologue
When Zuckerberg joined Eisenberg, it felt like they were going for pretend awkward, but instead it was just actually awkward. (Why didn’t all three Zuckerbergs appear together at the same time?) Jesse’s struggle to paint himself as cocky was well-intentioned, but that too was also awkward. C

Estro-maxx
This was one of the weakest premises SNL has ever had for a commercial parody, but thankfully it was part of a trend in which weak premises are saved by great performances. Bill, Fred, Paul, and Bobby especially were completely wholehearted in their roles, particularly while wining. And of course Kenan’s look of joyful surprise was the best moment. B

Mr. Wizard’s World
That rubbing was rather disturbing. Nasim and Jesse were not holding back at all. Luckily, the disturbing element was tempered by Bill keeping it straight as Mr. Wizard and Kenan and Abby looking positively frightened as the other kids. B

Don’t Forget the Lyrics
At first, the joke appeared to just be a smattering of misheard lyrics. Then, it pulled off a surprise by becoming a little revelatory with the extra testicle moment. And then it settled into a pattern. Oh well. You win some, you lose some. The joke that Mark McGrath is now a puppet of VH1 was a good call, but it was ruined by Sudeikis’s normal jerk-like delivery. B

WXPD News
Herb Welch is a great character and significant evidence as to why Bill has been the best of the cast this season. The mumbling is key. He almost lost it while interviewing Kenan. I don’t know if he can be allowed to have two characters partially defined by cracking up, but it is acceptable for now. Kenan has lately been playing a lot of characters who are the victims of mild racism. B

Digital Short: The Creep
Like many of the musical digital shorts, I didn’t catch all of the lyrics on the first viewing. But that was okay, as the selling point of this one was the look. It is always nice when the outfits of the main characters fit the title, and the Lonely Island’s boys’ look did so in spades. Scoring John Waters for the introduction was quite the coup. It was a token appearance, but there was nothing awkward about it – it felt like the sort of thing John Waters would actually be up to. As for Nicki Minaj’s appearance, she was as impressive as Justin Timberlake, in that she felt like a true collaborator of the Lonely Island and not just a game participant. However, while I was happy to see her appear (she’s got the requisite chops), she looked too attractive – more freaky than creepy. Even with those glasses, I think those guys in the locker room were happy to have a peeping Tom (or peeping Tammy, as it were). B+

Nicki Minaj performs “Right Thru Me”
Nicki’s voice is not too unusual, but it is awesome. And you gotta love her outfits. This is not her most clever song. The lyrics could be a bit grating coming out of someone else’s voice, but somehow Nicki gets it right. What was up with that one backup singer’s hair? I could have sworn she was wearing cat ears. B+

Weekend Update
-The Jokes: This was the best from Seth Meyers as anchor that I have ever seen. He had a few Norm MacDonald-level jokes where I actually could never have guessed his punchline (particularly the elderly drivers bit). B+
-The Segments: -Hosni Mubarak: There’s Fred, the all-ethnic. The great thing about when Fred is successful with his foreign characters is that the jokes aren’t about the foreignness. He does an accent, but the actual humor comes from somewhere unexpected. Here, of all things, it was frustration over being given a large window of time for when an Internet technician will show up. B+
-Tyler Perry: I don’t think Kenan is a huge fan of Tyler Perry. I think he believes that he is more entertaining than Tyler Perry in many ways. I think so, too. But he also knows that Tyler Perry has a lot more money than he does. So he doesn’t get too explicit about how he feels. But he doesn’t have to. B

Bride of Blackenstein
Apparently Bootsy Collins was playing Dr. Blackenstein. I don’t know if that was Jay’s idea or someone else’s, but either way, it was a good idea. The main reason why this sketch worked so well (it was one of the best of the season) was that each character was fully fleshed out, and that lent itself to each line being delivered so strongly. Given Jesse Eisenberg’s presence, I wondered if this sketch had been written by the blaxpoitation version of Aaron Sorkin. Considering the subject matter, I worried that Jesse was only going to make a token appearance, but then he stayed on the whole time, and I was ultimately convinced that this episode had an ingenious host/musical guest pairing. A-

Skins
The product placement bits were kind of funny. I imagine it may have been funnier if they had started taking some clothes off, instead of just promising to. Or maybe I just wanted to see some skin and that had nothing to do with laughs. Anyway, the real highlight was Andy as the apparent head of MTV programming. This was one of his best performances of the season. Total comedically professional move when he decided to just throw the moonman off the desk after accidentally knocking it over. B+

Spa Talk
This sketch made no sense, but Kristen’s delivery was out of this world. I was neither amused nor annoyed by the poop jokes; they felt like just a part of the proceedings. B

Nick Minaj performs “Moment 4 Life”
I appreciated that Nicki kept her bride of Blackenstein wig on. It is always nice to see a connection running through an episode, even one as small as this. This performance had a certain I-don’t-know-what that I enjoy in live music. B+

El Shrinko
Kristen’s delivery in this sketch was reminiscent of the Norwegian Actors Playhouse bit from last season. Everyone’s delivery was great! That was good, as many of the lines were dumb. I guess they were supposed to be that way, but they could have been unbearable if not delivered correctly. Why did that Derek fellow pop in for a second? B

Overall
The audience was in a really good mood. This was the friendliest audience SNL has had in some time. Such an audience was not entirely deserved until after Update, when Blackenstein, Skins, and Spa Talk promoted a patently silly atmosphere. This episode, more than any other I can remember in a while, made the case that the musical guest should be a big part of the show – and not at the expense of the host (I’m thinking of you, Paul Rudd/Paul McCartney episode). The Bride of Blackenstein, while also being an excellent sketch in and of itself, demonstrated this principle perfectly.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 1/29/11

My dad caught some of “All You Need is Now” and thought, Hey, that current band sounds like Duran Duran.

Original Version
1. The Script – “For the First Time”
2. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – “Paris (Ooh La La)”
3. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
4. Bruno Mars – “Grenade”
5. Ke$ha – “We R Who We R”
6. Train – “Marry Me”
7. Christina Perri – “Jar of Hearts”
8. Mumford & Sons – “The Cave”
9. Crystal Bowersox – “Farmer’s Daughter”
10. Taylor Swift – “Back to December”
11. Sick Puppies – “Maybe”
12. Sia – “I’m in Here”
13. Linkin Park – “Waiting for the End”
14. Josh Groban – “Hidden Away”
15. Goo Goo Dolls – “Notbroken”
16. P!nk – “F****** Perfect”
17. Kylie Minogue – “Get Outta My Way”
18. Kid Rock – “Born Free”
19. Duran Duran – “All You Need is Now”
20. Katy Perry – “Firework”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Paris (Ooh La La)
2. Rolling in the Deep
3. We R Who We R
4. All You Need is Now
5. Get Outta My Way
6. The Cave
7. I’m in Here
8. Jar of Hearts
9. Born Free
10. Back to December
11. Grenade
12. Waiting for the End
13. Maybe
14. Firework
15. Hidden Away
16. F****** Perfect
17. For the First Time
18. Farmer’s Daughter
19. Notbroken
20. Marry Me

Cinematic Honorable Mentions of 2010

Neither I nor the Academy considered the following worthy of a nomination, but they are nonetheless worthy of being mentioned.

Actor
Paul Rudd, How Do You Know – There was a good portion of How Do You Know during which Paul Rudd was not on screen.  Big mistake.  When he was around, he lit up the whole movie.

Actress
Elisabeth Shue, Piranha 3D – Some asked what Elisabeth Shue was doing in a movie like Piranha.  Here’s a better question: how could she have been any better for the role?

Supporting Actor
Jeff Goldblum, The Switch – The Switch – of all movies – featured Jeff Goldblum at his “hmm, erm” squirmiest best.

Supporting Actress
Portia Doubleday, Youth in Revolt – This is a kind of girl I woulnd’t mind falling for.
Melissa McMeekin/Bianca Hunter/Erica McDermott/Jill Quigg/Dendrie Taylor/Kate B. O’Brien/Jenna Lamia, The Fighter – If seven actresses could be nominated as one, then the Eklund/Ward sisters would have easily been in the mix.

Adapted Screenplay
Will Forte, John Solomon, and Jorma Taccone, Macgruber – Macgruber is no classic, but as far as adapting an SNL sketch goes, credit must be given for creating something that was (and necessarily had to be) significantly different from the sketch.

Editing
Seth Casriel, Matt Kosinski, and Matt Probst, Jackass 3D – Let’s keep in mind that a major reason why the Jackass stunts work as well as they do is because they are consistently well-edited.

Song
“Rock My Body,” written by Nathan Heller, Macgruber – Will Forte has a beautiful voice.

Best Movies of 2010

Best Movies of 2010

On 2009’s list, I declared Jesse Eisenberg the biggest star of the year, thanks to the presence of Adventureland and Zombieland.  Then, in 2010, The Social Network was released.  Needless to say, I have high hopes for 30 Minutes or Less.  Leo, Chloë Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins, and Adrien Brody all attempted to be the biggest star this year, but 2010 was ultimately all over the place.

As usual, each of the top ten movies is accompanied with a memorable line.  As for the best line of the year?  Everyone say it with me:

“Machete don’t text.”

1. Inception
Devin Faraci of CHUD.com has written an essential article about how Inception is a metaphor for moviemaking.  When an audience watches a movie in a theatre, it is like a shared dream.  The roles in Inception correspond to the roles in a movie: Cobb is the director, Arthur the producer, Ariadne the screenwriter, Eames the actor, Yusuf the technical guy, Saito the financier, Fischer the audience, and Mal the element of himself that the director inevitably imprints the film with.  Faraci also hints at the idea that this metaphor can be extended to say that how we experience dreams is not only like how we experience movies but also how we experience life.  We never know how we get where we are at the beginning of a dream, and when a dream ends, we are rudely ripped from it without a real chance for resolution.  In life, we do not know how we got to where we began.  Think back to your earliest memory.  How did you get to that point?  Sure, you probably know when and where you were born, and your parents can fill in the rest, but you only know all that because that is what you are told.  And when we die, we die, rudely plucked from life.  Perhaps from the viewpoint of the afterlife, the logic of life will seem like the logic of dreams.  But while we have the chance, we, like Cobb, are fighting for resolution, working at that one thing, that one idea, that will change everything.
Memorable Line: “So do you want to take a leap of faith or become an old man filled with regret, waiting to die alone?”

2. The Social Network
Yes, The Social Network is meaningful because it is the story behind one of the major forces in today’s society, and yes, it has also got those classic themes of friendship, betrayal, and the temptations of power.  But what really makes The Social Network so thrilling is its portrayal of genius at work.  The reason that its scenes of typing are engaging is because we know that any line of code Mark Zuckerberg comes up with could be gold.  We love Sean Parker even though he is introduced following a one-night stand because he pays attention to everything, always looking for a way to innovate.  Our attention is held because we know that at any moment, these characters could have some genius epiphany.  And we are also so fascinated, because even though these geniuses have changed society, it is not clear that the ways they have changed society, or themselves, have ultimately been for good.
Memorable Line: “If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook.”

3. The Fighter
I have heard some people argue that Christian Bale’s performance was too dominant in The Fighter and that he nearly took over the entire movie.  Well, Dicky Ecklund nearly took over his brother’s life with his shenanigans getting in the way of his brother’s career.  Obviously The Fighter was more about family dynamics than it was about boxing.  (Why else would the Gatti fights have only been included in the epilogue?)  Micky Ward is portrayed by Mark Wahlberg as a silent, almost diffident man surrounded by dangerously strong-willed family members.  The ultimate resolution of the movie, then, is for Micky to stand up to all of them.  It could just be the power of Wahlberg’s performance, or it could also be that some small American towns have big identities, but I bought wholesale The Fighter’s showier scenes.  The “I’m the one fighting” scene came across over-the-top in the trailer, but in the context of the actual movie, it was the only thing that made sense.
Memorable Line: “I want Dicky back.  And I want you, Charlene.  And I want O’Keefe.  I want my family.  What’s wrong with that?”

4. Black Swan
To be able to fully appreciate Black Swan, it is necessary to be clear about its genre: psychological thriller.  The thrills and chills in such a film all come from the main character’s head.  The challenge for the audience is to determine what is not real and what (if anything) is real.  The trick is that certain elements are explicitly marked fake or might as well be (the girl on girl action, Nina’s transformation into an actual swan).  So the audience is coaxed into believing that everything else is real, but a quick deeper glance questions the wisdom of such a belief: Who is Lily?  Why does she always look like Nina when she is seen in the shadows?  Why do no other characters interact with Nina’s mom?  Then there are the scenes that appear to be partially real and partially fake: did Nina actually scratch herself even though only her reflection is shown doing the scratching?  Because Black Swan is principally informed by what is going on in someone’s head, it will continue to be debated and answers will never be complete.  But what is clear is that whatever crazy synaptic processes were going on, they were what she needed to accomplish what she was after.  And that is so often how success happens.
Memorable Line: “Wait, did you have some sort of lezzy wet dream about me?” … “Shut up.”

5. Toy Story 3
There are not too many great G-rated movies nowadays.  Part of that is because there are not too many G-rated movies at all.  Also, it is because most filmmakers don’t know how to or don’t care to have whimsy carry an entire movie.  Toy Story 3 is not very deep.  It is plain to see that its theme is the struggle of feeling useless when growing old.  But that lack of depth is okay when you have whimsy, and friends.
Memorable Line: “Are you classically trained?”

6. Exit Through the Gift Shop
After seeing Exit Through the Gift Shop, I am still not sure who made this movie.  Going into it, I thought it was directed by Thierry Guetta and that he chose to pretend that Banksy took over the directorial reins midway through filming.  But Banksy is listed as the director.  And also Thierry Guetta/Mr. Brainwash may not be an actual artist or even an actual person.  There is speculation that his entire existence is a hoax perpetrated by Banksy and/or that Banksy is Thierry Guetta.  Regardless of what is to be believed about Exit Through the Gift Shop (and a lot of it does seem true, particularly the portrayal of the Disneyland police), it has plenty to say about art.  The emergence of Thierry and his ever-present camera in the street art scene forced street artists to reflect upon their work.  All art is temporary to a certain extent, street art particularly so.  But with Thierry around, it didn’t have to be that way.  But did street artists want their work to be more permanent?  Such permanence seemed to encourage the idea that street art is a particularly democratic art.  But with the attention and the prices that Banksy pieces have commanded, street art doesn’t exactly lack prestige and is hardly as democratic as it may once have been.  As it is then, the tale of Thierry Guetta is a cautionary one: perhaps it is a good thing when the art world isn’t exactly democratic.
Memorable Line: “I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don’t do that so much anymore.”

7. Let Me In
Let Me In is proof that unnecessary does not have to mean bad.  It made no sense that Let the Right One should have been remade.  It provided a Swedish perspective to what had become an all-encompassing craze in America.  Why would an American perspective need to be brought in?  Let Me In is definitely an Americanized version of Låt Den Rätte Komma In – Americanized in the best possible sense of the term.  Matt Reeves did not have to set Let Me In in the eighties, but it probably worked best for him because of the clips of Ronald Reagan he was able to get a hold of.  Setting this creepy tale against the backdrop of the rise of the moral majority was ingenious.  In a world of bullies and kind-hearted vampires, what is the role of religion?  And who are the real monsters?  Who isn’t?
Memorable Line: “Do you think there’s such a thing as evil?”

8. The King’s Speech
There have been plenty of great period British dramas in cinematic history, but I would place The King’s Speech in a more recent filmmaking trend by positing that it ought to be grouped with Superbad, I Love You, Man, and (to include some Britishness) The Damned United.  Yes, that’s right, The King’s Speech is a movie about bromance, or, as it was referred to at the time, male friendship.  My aunt was telling me that the relationship between these two men could not have worked if neither one was as strong-willed as the other.  I am not entirely sure if she meant the relationship Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush or the one between King George and Lionel Logue.  If she meant it both ways, then she was absolutely correct.  True friendship and dynamic acting comes from demanding the best from and respecting your friend and/or co-star.
Memorable Line: “Fuck fuck fuck!  Shit!  Balls … tits.”

9. Easy A
Just because you are a well-adjusted teenager does not mean you do not have to deal with the indignities of high school.  It is a hoot to watch Olive tell her tale because she is so mature and entertaining for her age, but she is not so mature as to not need any sympathy or to have no opportunity for growth.  Emma Stone really sells the whole package with her breakdown at the end.  Crying on camera is a tough trick, but she conveys what needs to be conveyed at the moment: she has tried so hard to be a good person, while it seems that everyone around her has decided that she cannot be.  This is generally a good strategy for making a well-adjusted person a memorable character: finally show her vulnerable side.
Memorable Line: “You know, you call me bitch a lot, okay. It’s not really a term of endearment.”

10. Splice
Is this list bookended by two movies that are metaphors about movies?  The metaphor of Splice can be extended to the creation of any work of art, or any act of creation really.  When you release a movie, publish a book, release an album, unveil a painting, etc., it eventually becomes something other than what you intended due to the response of the audience.  Similarly, once Clive and Elsa were able to bring a creature like Dren to life, they had relatively little control over how it would develop.  The fact that a creation could change to the complete opposite of what they had intended was brought to a stark reality.  If you have the power to play god, you have to be prepared for the possibility that your creations will shock you.  God was prepared.  Clive and Elsa, not so much.
Memorable Line: “…it seems that Ginger has undergone certain hormonal changes.  She turned into a male.”

Honorable Mentions (Not Quite Top Ten Material, But They Deserve to be Mentioned More Than They Have Been): Edge of Darkness, Hot Tub Time Machine, Knight and Day, The Losers, The Other Guys, Piranha 3D, Step Up 3D, Youth in Revolt

Probably Good Ones That I Missed: Animal Kingdom, Another Year, The Illusionist, Inside Job, Monsters, Restrepo, Un Prophete

Best of Music 2010: The Best Music Videos of the Year

1. Kanye West – Runaway [dir. Kanye West]

Other music videos might claim it unfair that they had to compete with “Runaway,” as it could very well be considered a short film set to a Kanye West soundtrack as opposed to a music video proper.  But it is not like the other videos could not have also been as long as they wanted to be and included multiple songs.  With “Runaway,” Kanye West could have earned the honor of best music video of the year through sheer ambition alone, but the execution isn’t too bad, either.  The phoenix that Kanye’s character, Griffin, discovers is supposed to be a pure and unblemished creature, and the implication is that the world she comes from is pure and unblemished as well.  But when the phoenix explains that what she hates most about Griffin’s world is how sculptures are phoenixes turned to stone by society, one wonders if she is really the authority on perfection.  Griffin insists that this is not true.  Surely this is hardly the worst deed committed by the people of this world.  But is Griffin too naïve to be arguing with her?  When a guest at the dinner party asks him if he realizes that his girlfriend is a bird, he admits that he does not.  What is absolutely going on is the difficulty, perhaps impossibility, of natives of two different worlds coming to a complete understanding of each other.  The phoenix’s protests sound so wrong to Griffin’s ears because she does not (cannot?) explain it in his terms, nor can he explain what he has to say in her terms.

2. The Black Keys – Tighten Up [dir. Chris Marrs Piliero]

It is the relatively rare video that is not a collection of images to accompany the music, but also a story with a clearly traceable narrative.  And it is the rare video within that category that keeps that story contained to the length of the song.  Usually, you have something like “Thriller” that adds a few minutes before, in between, and sometimes after the song.  True, “Tighten Up” includes an approximately 20-second opening before the music kicks in, but after that, the song does not stop (save for about a second in the middle).  There is quite a bit of whimsy to the storytelling of the Black Keys: e.g., who keep donuts in their pockets?  (What if you get clothing fibers on the donut?  Or flour in your pockets?)  The fact that Dan and Patrick are just as bad as their sons illustrates that stories about love are as old as time and stories about guys fighting over the same girl are one second short of being as old as time.  Of course this little blues rock number is the perfect soundtrack for such a story.  You can hardly blame the boys – that little girl is quite the seductress.

3. M.I.A. – Born Free [dir. Romain Gavras]

Apparently the “Born Free” video was banned from YouTube (although I had no trouble finding it).  I guess some people were a little too disturbed by it.  Unfortunately, I have the sense that those people missed the point, as I heard that it was banned due to its violent content, as opposed to its political views.  As it is, M.I.A. is about the only musician today brave enough – nay, she’s about the only musician who cares enough – to make political allegory out of her videos.  (Were there ever any other musicians making videos like this?)  Like the best allegories, it is a fully realized, unironic fantasy world that looks like our own world.  Of course it is ridiculous that redheads would be taken from their homes, shot, beaten, and blown up, but how is it any more ridiculous than America’s treatment of blacks and Native Americans or the Tamil genocide in M.I.A.’s native Sri Lanka?

4. St. Vincent – Laughing with a Mouth of Blood [dir. Patrick Stanton and Doug Lussenhop]

The music video for “Laughing with a Mouth of Blood” is also part of a series of sketches by thunderAnt.  thunderAnt is Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and SNL’s Fred Armisen (who have brought the Women and Women First Bookstore to their IFC sketch series Portlandia).  This video would work if it was just a one-off, but it is always nice when an up-and-coming artist is in the hands of a group of people that have already got a thing going.  It is all about the indignities of being a struggling musician, with the embarrassment of nobody showing up to an under-promoted gig amplified by the cluelessness of the hipster owners of a feminist bookstore.

5. Lady GaGa ft. Beyoncé – Telephone [dir. Jonas Åkerlund]

Before “Telephone,” Lady GaGa’s videos were mostly a mishmash of images, and nothing else (with the exception of the sophisticated “Paparazzi”).  They were basically excuses for the dancing set pieces, although they did have the eye obscuring and the other Illuminati symbols.  Then with “Telephone,” GaGa decided that she was no longer just going to make silly conspiracy hand gestures, she was going to make a full-blown conspiracy-laden video.  The fact that the assassins of “Telephone” are of the brainwashed variety may be oblique to some, and GaGa’s conspiratorial leanings certainly aren’t reported much on the MTV.  But you got to know that something is up when the Japanese TV style graphics clutter the screen as GaGa prepares the poison.  And let’s not miss Beyoncé’s Mickey Mouse sunglasses.

I’m not entirely sure what Lady GaGa’s stance on mind control by the media is, or if she even wants her fans to notice that element of her artistry, but go ahead and watch The Manchurian Candidate and realize that she is part of a tradition of great brainwashing-related art.

6. Jay-Z ft. Swizz Beatz – On to the Next One [dir. Sam Brown]

All right, more fun from the Illuminati!  Jay-Z’s black and white video is actually filled with a whole host of occult images: Jay-Z making devil horns while surrounded by a halo-esque set of lights, liquid being poured on an encrusted skull, crows, skull face paint, horned skulls representing the pagan deity Baphomet.  The bareness of the set design and the b&w palette are reminiscent of Snoop’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” video, but the occult references make for a creepier end product.  The fact that these symbols have been associated with groups like the Knights Templar and the freemasons that supposedly secretly run society makes it clear that Jay is the one pulling the strings in the rap world.

7. Rihanna – Rude Boy [dir. Melina Matsoukas]

If you are going to subscribe to the theory that the music video should not strive for narrative but should only be a collection of images, then make sure you are working with people who know how to put together a nice artistically minded color palette.  References to iconic art helps as well: Andy Warhol (the silhouetted Rihanna), Keith Haring (the lion figure), and Jean-Michael Basquiat (the crown).  There is also what is to my eyes a visual reference to David Lynch’s Eraserhead (check out RiRi’s hair during the zebra-print portion).  And then Rihanna’s physical wit (curled lips, winks, finger pointing, smiles) ensures that her personality is firmly planted within the images.

8. Janelle Monáe ft. Big Boi – Tightrope [dir. Wendy Morgan]

Epigraphs are often so extraneous.  So when you get a good one, you gotta love it.  This is what Janelle Monáe has to tell us in her doozy of an epigraph: “Dancing has long been forbidden for its subversive effects on the residents and its tendency to lead to illegal magical practices.”  If you are going to make a dance music video, make sure of these three things: everyone can dance really well, the routine is creative and intricate, and there is a style to the video all its own.  “Tightrope” has the first two down with no problems (the dancing does not stop as it makes its way through the asylum), and then the third element is wild: a woman who looks sexy in a tuxedo.  And Janelle adds a little extra, delivering on the promise of the epigraph, as the dancing apparently gives her the ability to walk through walls.  So it is, then, that if we can dance, then we too can walk through the walls of our lives.

9. Drake – Find Your Love [dir. Anthony Mandler]

Drake has been such a sensation in the rap world because he plainly makes rap music and videos that are unlike anything any other MC’s are producing.  What other rapper makes the focus of his video a (realistic-looking) kidnapping and casts a girl with a huge ass as the love interest?  A lot of guys rap about the badonkadonk, but who besides Drake has put a true badonkadonk (and one that isn’t very flattering proportion-wise) in a video?  The girl is not shot particularly glamorously, except insofar as a kiss on the beach is glamorous.  But the image of Drake and the girl is striking nonetheless.  One might think that the kidnapping element would mean that Drake is at his lowest and most frightened, but instead his is a state of melancholy, as he deeply ponders how his situation has come to this.  He is looking for a real, meaningful love when everything around him is telling him that it does not exist.

10. Yeasayer – Madder Red [dir. Andreas Nilsson]

Kristen Bell plays an aspiring actress in a relationship (mother/son? girlfriend/boyfriend? owner/pet? friends?) with a short, stocky creature with stumpy (if any) feet, one oddly shaped arm, and bloody pus drooling out of its mouth.  Her mother looks like she might disapprove, or it could be that she is just worried because she knows how sick this poor little fellow is.  They rush to the hospital, but it turns out to be the creature’s time.  Could this be a statement on racial tolerance? Animal rights?  Based on the look of the creature, it could very well be a truly graphic and fearless depiction of a pro-life viewpoint.  Ultimately, its most essential theme is love. Kristen’s love for the creature is the strongest portrayal of unconditional love I have ever seen in a music video.

What I Would Pick in Each Oscar Category (Except the Shorts)

These are my choices for the top performances/accomplishments in films of 2010 in each of the cinematic categories honored by the Academy Awards.  I suppose that you could say if I were unilaterally choosing the Oscar nominees, these would be the nominees.  In a few of the design and technical categories (particularly Makeup and Sound Editing), I did not feel completely equipped to be picking the best, but I did what I could.

Picture
A full blog post detailing my top ten list is here.
Inception
The Social Network
The Fighter
Black Swan
Toy Story 3
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Let Me In
The King’s Speech
Easy A
Splice

Director
Christopher Nolan, Inception
David Fincher, The Social Network
David O. Russell, The Fighter
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Matt Reeves, Let Me In

Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, Inception
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter

Actress
There are a few performances here from movies that I didn’t think were otherwise that great.
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Emma Stone, Easy A

Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
Justin Timberlake, The Social Network
Vincent Cassel, Black Swan
Jonah Hill, Cyrus

Supporting Actress
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Barbara Hershey, Black Swan
Marion Cotillard, Inception
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Delphine Chanéac, Splice
Mila Kunis, Black Swan

Adapted Screenplay
Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Roman Polanski, The Ghost Writer
Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit
Matt Reeves, Let Me In
Michael Arndt, Toy Story 3

Original Screenplay
Christopher Nolan, Inception
David Seidler, The King’s Speech
Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, and Keith Dorrington, The Fighter
Bert V. Royal, Easy A
Vincenzo Natali, Antoinette Terry Bryant, and Doug Taylor, Splice

Editing
Lee Smith, Inception
Kirk Baxter Angus Wall, The Social Network
Pamela Martin, The Fighter
Andrew Weisblum, Black Swan
Thelma Schoonmaker, Shutter Island

Cinematography
Wally Pfister, Inception
Matthew Libatique, Black Swan
Danny Cohen, The King’s Speech
Bob Richardson, Shutter Island
Roger Deakins, True Grit

Art Direction
Inception
Shutter Island
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Black Swan
Tron: Legacy

Sound Mixing
Inception
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
The Social Network
The Fighter
Black Swan

Sound Editing
Inception
Shutter Island
Toy Story 3
Tron: Legacy
Unstoppable

Costume Design
Inception
Black Swan
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

Score
Hans Zimmer, Inception
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo, Tron: Legacy
Alexandre Desplat, The Ghost Writer
Heitor Perreira and Pharrell Williams, Despicable Me

Song
“The Clap,” written by Dan Bern and Mike Viola, Get Him to the Greek
“Chop and Change,” written by Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, Twilight: Eclipse
“Heavy in Your Arms,” written by Florence Welch and Paul Epworth, Twilight: Eclipse
“Fun, Fun, Fun,” written by Pharrell Williams, Despicable Me
“Eclipse (All Yours),” written by Emily Haines, James Shaw, and Howard Shore, Twilight: Eclipse

Foreign Language Film
I saw two foreign language films from 2010 – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl who Played with Fire – but I believe that neither one was eligible in this category, as they were not released in their home country last year.  But since they were released stateside in 2010, they were eligible for all the other categories.  Also, I believe there can be only one film nominated per country per year.

Documentary Feature
I saw four documentaries from 2010.  Here’s how I rank them:
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Waiting for ‘Superman’
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Catfish

Animated Feature
Toy Story 3
How to Train Your Dragon
Despicable Me

Visual Effects
Inception
Hereafter
Tron: Legacy
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Makeup
Black Swan
The Fighter
Let Me In
Shutter Island
Jonah Hex

Best of Music 2010: The Best Live Performances of the Year

There are thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of live performances every year.  Obviously I have not seen or even heard about every live performance of 2010, nor has any other music critic.  Even if I stick with only the performances that were broadcasted to a mass audience, there is still only a small percentage that I am familiar with.  Thus, the four performances that I am spotlighting may not be the four best performances of the year, but they are certainly memorable in their own right and would likely at least rank among the top one hundred performances of the year.  As it is, they are the four best live performances of 2010 that I saw.

Kanye West – “Power” on Saturday Night Live (October 2)
The SNL music stage is notorious for bad acoustics, drowning out any artist with a big sound.  It isn’t a very big stage, and history also suggests that the musical acts aren’t granted much freedom in adjusting the design of the stage.  Somehow, Kanye West convinced whoever makes the decisions that that needed to change.  Draping the stage completely in white – draping the stage in any color – is completely unheard of, as is the presence of approximately thirty backup dancers, ballerinas or otherwise.  This is prime video evidence of a musical genius at work, and evidence that he will not let anyone stand in his way as he brings his visions to fruition.

Florence + the Machine – “Dog Days are Over” at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards (September 12)
When you are a recording artist with a great voice, the question is always, do you sound as good live as you do on the record?  Better yet, do you sound better live?  If the answer is yes, then the rest of what you do live is just gravy.  So, it is always nice when an act like Florence + the Machine does not skimp on the gravy.  The blue people and the tribal outfits provided the spectacle, and the choreography was in sync.  Florence’s spinning platform set up a nice counter-synchronicity.  This performance also benefited from astute directorial choices, with plenty of ceiling shots showing off the full spectrum of the act.

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – “Paris (Ooh La La)”/Ann and Nancy Wilson and Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – “Crazy on You” on VH1 Divas Salute the Troops (recorded December 3, aired December 5)
With a steady pattern of vocal breaks and several relatively instrumentally inactive moments, “Paris (Ooh La La)” – more than any other hit of 2010 – is perfectly structured for a great live performance.  The Nocturnals did not disappoint, hitting their riffs as they saw fit, their spontaneity winning over the crowd despite being the least-known act.  Of course, Grace really explored the space of the stage and had plenty of room to do so.  But the real highlight, no doubt, was the encore.  At the beginning of the show, I was thinking how some of these VH1 Divas, Grace Potter especially, must have been influenced by the Wilson sisters and that it would be great if they were to make a surprise appearance.  Somebody else had that same great idea.  It would have been unbearable if Grace could not have matched Ann note for note on this most vocally striking of Heart’s hits, but she pulled it off, and the reason she was able to was certainly not because Ann’s pipes have gone any bit rusty.  She was even bold enough to put her own screechy spin on the tune.  The vocal tête à tête was enough to forgive the Nocturnals for skipping a few notes on the guitar (it is a tough guitar song as well).
http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:video:vh1.com:602760

Divas |Divas Photos |Divas Video |Celebrity News

http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:video:vh1.com:603090

Divas |Divas Photos |Divas Video |Celebrity News

She & Him – “I Put a Spell on You” on Conan (December 9)
“That was unbelievable.” – Conan O’Brien
On the opposite end of what Kanye accomplished on the SNL stage is what She & Him accomplished on the Conan stage.  This is the sort of performance you have to come up with when you don’t have 30 backup ballerinas.  It’s not like you need 30 backup dancers when you have a voice like Zooey Deschanel’s.  Hell, you barely need a guitar.  Zooey possesses one of the richest-sounding voices in music today, and in this take on the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins classic, she really explored what she could do with it.  She made the risky decision of sounding like a petulant child at several points, but somehow it worked.  And M. Ward did manage to fit in a quick little guitar solo outro.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 1/22/11

I love the idea that Paris may be a hit, but VH1 is the only source that has indicated to me that it might be.

Original Version
1. Ke$ha – “We R Who We R”
2. Bruno Mars – “Grenade”
3. The Script – “For the First Time”
4. Christina Perri – “Jar of Hearts”
5. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – “Paris (Ooh La La)”
6. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
7. Maroon 5 – “Give a Little More”
8. P!nk – “Raise Your Glass”
9. Crystal Bowersox – “Farmer’s Daughter”
10. Train – “Marry Me”
11. Mumford & Sons – “The Cave”
12. Katy Perry – “Firework”
13. Kid Rock – “Born Free”
14. Black Eyed Peas – “The Time (Dirty Bit)”
15. Linkin Park – “Waiting for the End”
16. Sia – “I’m in Here”
17. Sick Puppies – “Maybe”
18. Josh Groban – “Hidden Away”
19. Kylie Minogue – “Get Outta My Way”
20. Duran Duran – “All You Need is Now”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Paris (Ooh La La)
2. Rolling in the Deep
3. We R Who We R
4. All You Need is Now
5. Get Outta My Way
6. The Cave
7. I’m in Here
8. Jar of Hearts
9. Born Free
10. Maybe
11. Waiting for the End
12. Grenade
13. Firework
14. Hidden Away
15. The Time (Dirty Bit)
16. Give a Little More
17. For the First Time
18. Farmer’s Daughter
19. Raise Your Glass
20. Marry Me

SNL Recap January 15, 2011: Gwyneth Paltrow/Cee-Lo Green

Cold Opening – Fox News: Embracing Civility
Kristen, Bobby, Nasim, and Jason basically just sat there (and to varying degrees attempted an impression) while Bill took over the entire sketch as Carville. Which is perfectly acceptable, because it is a strong enough impression for that. I am surprised that Carville hasn’t been used in sketches before to antagonize Republicans like this. It seems like it would have been an obvious call. B

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Monologue
Pretending your way through something is ripe for laughs, but you can’t be lazy about it. When it quickly became clear that Gwyneth was obviously not immersed in country music, I laughed. But then she just mumbled through the song, and that was kinda funny. Jason’s Kenny Rogers was ultimately pointless. And Kristen’s Dolly Parton was not properly incorporated. C+

The Cape Spinoffs
This started out agreeably goofy, but since none of the premises were given time to develop, this was the ultimate in hit-or-miss comedy. There were a few hits, “The Water Bottle Holder” being the best of the bunch. I appreciated the line, “Viewers have spoken, and some of them say, ‘We like The Cape.’” B

Secret Word
Here is a rarity on SNL these days: a recurring sketch in which there is a real, concerted effort to do something different than the last times. I really wasn’t sure if Mindy was going to just say the secret words as she usually does. But when she did say the words, she said them so wonderfully. And Gwyneth’s Titsy, and Kenan’s urology professor, were nicely fleshed out. The best Secret Word sketch so far. B+

Digital Short: Andy and Pee-Wee’s Night Out
Like a lot of digital shorts, I was worried that this was just going to be a bunch of random shenanigans with whatever guest stars they felt like having. But, as with most shorts like that, it was tied together nicely by the end, with the intervention angle doing the tying. Norm MacDonald’s Larry King would surely appreciate John Larroquette appearing as the police officer. B

Bar Mitzvah
When you have a big cast, you need to have sketches like these in which everyone gets a chance to showcase an impression for about a minute. But not everyone was featured – this certainly could have been longer. Why it was decided to set such a sketch at a bar mitzvah is beyond me, but thanks to Fred and Vanessa, it worked. Gwyneth’s Taylor Swift was wildly daffy, Jay’s Jay-Z makes funny noises, and Abby’s Katy Perry was pretty accurate. B+

Record Meeting
This was a mostly throwaway sketch and an excuse to feature Cee-Lo yet again. But some of the replacement words were undeniably funny (“Forget me in the Sasquatch!” “my Ninentdo”). “Country Strong,” however? That’s just shameless. B

Cee-Lo Green performs “Forget You”
I could give this performance an utterly failing grade because this version has none of the power of “Fuck You.” To be fair, if “Forget You” weren’t burdened by the fact that it is not “Fuck You,” then we would think of it as a halfway decent song. B

Weekend Update
-The Jokes: Seth actually seems to know what he’s talking about. Baboons aren’t very good at science, for example. B
-The Segments: -Constitution Corner: That’s fair. B
-Jimmy McMillan: Jimy McMillan didn’t have as much to talk about as he did in his first appearance, but the way Kenan plays him, he doesn’t need to have much of anything to talk about to be able to talk. B+
-Vanessa Bayer at the Golden Globes: So, was it the Golden Globes suspect nominating that was being made fun of? Or just Christina Aguilera and Cher? That part was a bit funny. Is Chaz Bono a tranny? What up with that? C+
-Garth and Kat: Garth and Kat appearances are successful only if at least half of what they are singing can be understood. And this time, Fred and Kristen held it together. And how often can a host joining in on a recurring bit be described as just adding more to love? B+

Previews at the Globe Theatre
There have been plenty of SNL sketches that ask the question, what if the past were crossed with the present? Rarely are those sketches as palatable as this one was. Kenan’s quick bit as the audience member illegally recording the show was one of the funniest moments of the year. B+

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 20th Anniversary DVD
You gotta love it when Kenan plays the straight man, because you know there is a ton of energy just bubbling underneath the surface. It’s nice to see that SNL has found a use for Jay’s Will Smith impression in sketches. B+

ESPN Deportes Sportscenter
I wish the real Sportscenter, Deportes or English, were always like this. B+

Cee-Lo Green performs “Bright Lights Bigger City”
Those girls are pretty, and they’re skilled at playing musical instruments. B

Parker/Spitzer Auditions
This should not have been the ten-to-one sketch. Like the Bar Mitzvah BIT, it should have been longer and featured several more impressions. Gwyneth’s Heidi Klum was way off. Heidi does have a German accent, but other than that, Gwyneth sounded nothing like her. You know, she can actually speak English. But Bill’s Spitzer is the ultimate creepy public figure, so that made up for most of the shortcomings. And when you need a punchline, where do you head? New Jersey! B

Overall
By the time Update was through, I was impressed that everyone in the cast had been prominently featured at some point in this episode, except Paul. And then Paul got the spotlight in the ESPN Deportes sketch. So, by the end of it, everyone had a moment to shine. The cast is too big right now, but as the early nineties showed, a big cast can work, at least for a time. This episode was a blueprint for how to make it work with a big cast.

Best of Music 2010: The Best Songs of the Year

I have been assembling year-end best-of music lists since 2006 (or since 2007, for the music of 2006, as it were). Up until this year, these collections were a part of my radio show, Jeff Malone’s Magic Mix, on WLOY, Loyola University Maryland’s campus station. Now that I have graduated, the Magic Mix is no longer on the airwaves at WLOY, but that is no reason for me to stop espousing on the best music of the year. The format on my best-of-the-year Magic Mix shows consisted of a list of the top five songs of the year along with a sampling of some of the year’s other great songs, in no particular order. That is the format we will stick with. To be eligible, songs must have been released as singles in calendar year 2010 (or late 2009 in the case of some exceptions).

Top 5 Songs of the Year
After the top 5 took a decidedly indie turn last year, 2010 went in a more mainstream direction.

 1. Jay-Z ft. Swizz Beatz – “On to the Next One”
Jay-Z enjoyed a string of hit singles off The Blueprint 3; in a case of opposite day, the most deserving – “On to the Next One” – was the least successful of the bunch.  Jay’s team-up with Alicia Keys received much of the attention that ought to have gone to his collaboration with her husband.  A barely recognizable sample of Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.” played over and over and the occasional drumbeat provide the creepy, spare atmosphere.  Meanwhile, Jay raps about how he is staying ahead of the game while he does the same, more than on any of his other recent tracks: “Niggas want my old shit, buy my old album.”  He tweaks the excesses of the genre while simultaneously making expert use of them himself: “And fuck that Auto-Tune cause we [cue Auto-Tune] ooo-on.”  Some of the best work in any medium is about the medium itself.

2. Rihanna – “Rude Boy”
Rihanna’s dark gambit Rated R was not entirely successful, but it did produce the most interesting work of her career, and nowhere was that more clear than on “Rude Boy.”  It is quite the bold effort to have a song represent an entire slang term (“rude boy” is common Jamaican slang for a lawless male), but when it works, it works.  “Rude Boy” is ostensibly a love letter to such questionable fellows, but there is surely a wealth of irony, considering the Chris Brown period of Rihanna’s life.  And the musical aspect is as strong and well-produced as it can be: RiRi’s icy monotone is as biting as ever, and that steel drum lead-in to the chorus is perhaps the instrumental accent of the year.

3. The Black Keys – “Tighten Up”
How many wrenching blues-rock numbers about the heartrending nature of love are being made today?  About 15 – the number of tracks on the Black Keys’ latest album.  “Tighten Up” is the best of the bunch.  An opening whistle, musical enjambment (“I’m bound to fall, bound to fall/for you”), and a tempo-changing background that ushers in the final bit are some of the most notable pieces that make up the ultimate tight (appropriately enough) musical package.

 4. Katy Perry – “Teenage Dream”
As I was beginning to realize just how great “Teenage Dream” is, I described it as the best pop song in a while.  By “pop,” I meant to exclude pop-rock, pop-R&B, pop-rap, dance-pop, electropop, and any other non-pop genre with songs that happen to make it on to the pop charts.  Then I was looking through Rolling Stone’s picks for songs of the year.  They also placed Katy at number four, and they described “Teenage Dream” as the “Best Pure Pop” – this was the description I had been looking for.  With a sound reminiscent of Kylie Minogue (particularly “Love at First Sight”), “Teenage Dream” conveys a taste of ecstasy that only pure pop music can pull off. 

5. Metric – “Gold, Guns, Girls”
Are you ready?  “Gold, Guns, Girls” is going to pump you up and get you moving by opening with that guitar riff, then keep things steady with the drumbeat during the verses, and then that riff will jump back in your face for the chorus.  And then Emily Haines’ call-and-response and overlapping vocals are enough to drive you insane.  What is the perfect question to accompany this aggressive sound blast?  You got it: “Is it ever gonna be enough?”

Just Outside the Top 5
Arcade Fire – “Ready to Start”
Rihanna – “Only Girl (in the World)”
Drake – “Find Your Love”
Kanye West – “Power”

And Some Other Good Ones
Paramore – “The Only Exception”
Florence + the Machine – “Heavy in Your Arms”
“Dog Days Are Over” was Florence’s breakout hit, but it was originally released in 2008.  And “Heavy in Your Arms” was better anyway.
Kings of Leon – “Radioactive”
Janelle Monáe – “Tightrope”
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – “I Should Have Known It”
This isn’t a classic act resting on its laurels or being experimental for the sake of doing something different – this is another solid entry in a great career.
Nicki Minaj ft. Sean Garrett – “Massive Attack”
Band of Horses – “Laredo”
Mayer Hawthorne – “I Wish It Would Rain”
Dance Song of the Year: Usher ft. will.i.am – “OMG”
will.i.am presents Usher with the best song of his career: a simple ode to the joys of the dancefloor and the ladies who populate it.
St. Vincent – “Laughing with a Mouth of Blood”
Eminem ft. Lil’ Wayne – “No Love”
La Roux – “Bulletproof”
3OH!3 ft. Ke$ha – “My First Kiss”
Bill Lamb of About.com said that 3OH!3 and Ke$ha “are probably the most gifted artists of the moment at riding a line between performing irresistibly catchy music and releasing tremendously annoying songs.”  “My First Kiss” is the pinnacle of the irresistibly catchy side.
Ke$ha – “We R Who We R”
Silversun Pickups – “The Royal We”
Linkin Park – “The Catalyst”
Muse – “Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever)”
That’s 2 (two!) songs from the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack.
Selena Gomez and the Scene – “Round & Round”
“Round & Round” gives no indication as to Selena Gomez’s vocal abilities, but it is a well-produced piece of pop.
Nicki Minaj – “Right Thru Me”
The Temper Trap – “Fader”
“Fader” is standing in a bit for “Sweet Disposition,” which was originally released in 2008, but was a hit in the Temper Trap’s native Australia before it broke though stateside.
Sara Bareilles – “King of Anything”
Most Awesomely Bad Song of the Year: Christina Perri – “Jar of Hearts”
“You’re gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul” is 2010’s response to “I’m so two thousand and eight, you’re so two thousand and late.”